Now that vaccines are awaiting approval, the question looms: To what extent will remote work persist? In this article, we assess the possibility for various work activities to be performed remotely. Building on the McKinsey Global Institute\u2019s body of work on automation, AI, and the future of work, we extend our models to consider where work is performed. Our analysis finds that the potential for remote work is highly concentrated among highly skilled, highly educated workers in a handful of industries, occupations, and geographies.<\/p>\n
More than 20 percent of the workforce could work remotely three to five days a week as effectively as they could if working from an office. If remote work took hold at that level, that would mean three<\/a> to four times as many people<\/a> working from home than before the pandemic and would have a profound impact on urban economies, transportation, and consumer spending, among other things.<\/p>\n More than half the workforce, however, has little or no opportunity for remote work. Some of their jobs require collaborating with others or using specialized machinery; other jobs, such as conducting CT scans, must be done on location; and some, such as making deliveries, are performed while out and about. Many of such jobs are low wage and more at risk from broad trends such as automation and digitization. Remote work thus risks accentuating inequalities at a social level.<\/p>\n Read it all<\/a>.<\/p>\n Remote work may increase gender disparity in the workplace, exacerbating the regressive effects of #COVID19<\/a>. Our new article explores what\u2019s next for remote work https:\/\/t.co\/sNt86P24PH<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/FsJqcaULm7<\/a><\/p>\n — McKinsey Global Institute (@McKinsey_MGI) November 26, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n \n